


Too Thin to Notice

by Backroad_To_Hell



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Child Neglect, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I tried to make up an akuma and I was terrible at it, I'm really just shitting on Gabriel Agreste, Identity Reveal, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Modeling, Romance, Sick Adrien, Starvation, dieting, light child abuse, no beta we die like men, sick
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-02-09 11:32:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18637282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Backroad_To_Hell/pseuds/Backroad_To_Hell
Summary: Basically it's Adrien's dad like forcing him to starve himself for his modeling career and Marinette taking care of himself when he gets sick.If you recognize this fic don't be alarmed I had to delete my account recently so this is me reposting it it's not stolen I swear.Also be aware that I wrote this before season 2 even came out so disregard any inconsistencies. :)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is based off a random scene from Gamer (season 1) that made it pop into my head.

_Victory Marinette and Adrien!_

         Marinette pumped her fist in the air, and Adrien spun his chair around, hooting excitedly. He sat still for a moment catching his breath, and turned to Marinette.

        “Wow! We won thanks to you!” The blond laughed. Marinette smiled shyly, looking at the ground.

         “We played well.” Adrien shook his head, reclining back into his chair.

        “I practically didn’t do anything. You’re a champion, Marinette. You’d probably manage better alone. I’m not worth anything compared to you…” Marinette jumped, and looked at Adrian in shock. How could he of all people say that?

         “Oh nononono, I… No! You’re super-hot!” Marinette cursed herself as soon as the words left her mouth. Why can’t I just say what I mean?

         Adrien made a small, pained noise and buried his head in his hands. “That’s just it though. The only reason I’m worth anything to anyone is because I have a nice face.” His voice hitched. “I’m so tired of it!”

         “No, Adrien that’s not true! You know that’s not true!” Marinette didn’t even know what to do; she had never thought that Adrien, who always seemed so confident, had this underneath.

         “But it is! It’s the only reason Chloe, the public, or even my father care about me.” Adrien didn’t even seem to be aware that he was crying, but the sight was heartbreaking. “I just want to be enough for him; just as I am. Is that too much to ask?”

         Now Marinette could see what he meant, because even when he was crying, she couldn’t help but notice that he was absolutely gorgeous. The red rimming around his eyes brought out the startling green better than any makeup or editing ever could. It had taken Marinette a while to admit to herself that, at first, the only reason she was crushing on Adrien was because he was a model, but soon she fell in love with how charming and funny and amazing he was.

         “Adrien…” Marinette was interrupted by the trap-door slamming open once again with her mom popping her head in with a heaping plate of cookies stretched out in front of her.

         “Hey kids! I just made some cookies, and…” The short woman suddenly seemed to notice Adrien, and she immediately rushed to his side, her mom-instincts kicking in.

“Sweetheart, what’s the matter? Did you hurt yourself, or—“

         “I’m fine.” Adrien tilted his head up at them. His cheeks were streaked with tears, but he still managed that dazzling smile of his that looked almost rehearsed.

         “If you were fine, you wouldn’t be crying, Adrien. Now let’s get you comfy and have some cookies and you can tell me what’s wrong.”

         Marinette could see a whole range of emotions running over his face, from anger to sadness to jealousy to longing and then finally a small smile of gratitude. And then she realized why he felt this way and her heart broke for the second time in five minutes. Adrien’s mom was gone and his dad barely even looked at him, and Marinette’s mom was being so motherly it must bother him. He didn’t have anyone to talk to about his feelings, or to make him cookies, or to notice when he was upset. Adrien was alone and it hurt Marinette to think about him like this but it was true.

         At the same time Marinette was feeling sorry for him, she was also falling in love with him even more, because this situation was bringing out just how beautiful of a person he is. He could have settled on feeling angry for not having parents that love him, or jealousy that Marinette did, but he settled on gratitude. He pushed away all of the negative emotions and focused of the positive, even when, deep down, he was purely lonely.

         That was why Tiki chose me to be Ladybug, a small voice in the back of her mind chimed, We have that in common. That one trait, the ability to focus on the positive even when things are really rough, made people like Marinette and Adrien almost resistant to akumas. People who can stay focused on the bright side of things can’t be controlled by negative emotions. Adrien would make a good Chat Noir.

         That was when it all clicked into place, and she remembered a conversation she and Chat had had on a rooftop one night, only a week prior. He was so angry with himself for being controlled by Dark Cupid, and the fact that he had attacked Ladybug. He told her that she would do better without him for a partner, and that she was worth so much more than him. And looking at the way Adrien’s blond hair was blowing in the slight breeze coming in from the open window and the shocking green of his eyes as Marinette’s mom tucked a blanket around his shoulders, there was no mistaking it.

         Adrien is Chat Noir.

         Marinette pulled herself out of her thoughts and glanced over at Adrien. Now that she knew it was so obvious! But she couldn’t think about that now. Sabine had forced him onto the couch and had pulled him tightly against her. He looked confused for a moment before relaxing into her embrace, nuzzling his face into her shoulder, tears still leaking from his eyes. Marinette hated that he looked confused at something as simple as a hug. With some gentle coaxing from Marinette’s mom, Adrien explained in a small voice about how his father only paid attention to him when he made a mistake, and how it was nearly impossible to make him happy. He talked about the unbearable stress put on him every day and the sometimes dangerous diets he was forced into for fashion shows and photoshoots; how sometimes he had been so hungry and underweight he had been on the verge of collapsing and had to opt out of afterschool activities to just rest.

         “Are you on one of these diets now?” Sabine asked gently.

         “I…I started one yesterday. The big spring fashion show is soon and people can’t photo-shop those, so the seasonal shows are usually the worst.”

         “Adrien you need to eat. Here, have a cookie.”

         He stared at it longingly for a moment before sighing and shaking his head hopelessly. “I can’t. No sugar, carbs, or unnecessary fat.”

         “What do you even eat?” Marinette squeaked. “Everything has something unhealthy!”

         “Salads and green drinks for calories once a day and vitamin tablets for nutrients.” Adrien looked at his feet. “It’s pretty much the minimum I can eat without dying.”

         Sabine shook her head angrily. “That is the exact opposite of healthy! You are a growing boy; you need food to get strong. Right now, you’re starving yourself!” But Adrien wasn’t swayed. He just shook his head adamantly.

         “You don’t understand. I don’t need to be strong, I need to be skinny. It’s my job.” Adrien choked back a sob. “If I’m not skinny, I’m nothing. I’m useless to my father, and to the world.” The blond boy’s voice broke. ”He won’t love me.”

         “Adrien you’re already too thin as it is. You don’t need to lose any weight.” Adrien looked the opposite of convinced, and Marinette knew she had to say something.

She came forward to kneel in front of him and, summoning all of Ladybug’s courage, took his hand, saying, “Adrien, you’re beautiful. And not just your face and body. You’re the most kind and intelligent and thoughtful person I have ever known and you don’t need to do anything to change yourself. If your father doesn’t love you it’s not because you’re not good enough but because he’s an idiot. And if no one else will love you then I-“

         A car horn beeped outside the window. “That’s my ride,” he said shakily. “Thank you both for everything. And Marinette, I’m sorry we couldn’t practice more. We might need to get together again before the competition.” He stood and stopped at a full length mirror, straightening his clothes and hair and wiping his eyes and giving the mirror a wide grin until he looked like nothing ever happened. The three made their way downstairs to the front door, where Sabine stopped him and pulled him into a hug.

         “You’re welcome here any time, Adrien.”

         “Thank you.”

         Marinette and her mother watched the boy climb into the limo, and both made vows to themselves; one to care for Adrien, and one to care for Chat Noir.


	2. Chapter 2

After seeing the state Adrien was in at school that Monday, Ladybug expected to spend that night’s patrol alone. She was shocked he even went to school at all. When he had come in he was really pale, his hands shook lightly, and his cloths hung off his frame, making it impossible to really tell how thin he was. But now that she saw him as Chat it was easy. It seemed as though no matter how skinny Adrien got, his catsuit always seemed to shrink with him. Now she could count each individual rib just by looking at him, and his hips and collar bones jutted out in a way that was thoroughly disturbing. Marinette’s acting skills weren’t that great, but she needed to act surprised so he didn’t suspect she knew who he was. 

“Oh my god!” she breathed as Chat sat down next to her on the roof, his legs dangling off. “You look awful!”

“You’re just jealous that I lost weight.” His words were confident in the way that was so typical of Chat Noir, but his body didn’t reflect them. His posture was slumped and his smile didn’t reach his tired eyes. She could see his whole body shaking, even if he was trying to suppress it, and his face was ghostly pale.

“Chat, what…why…are you okay?” Ladybug knew that they couldn’t reveal themselves to each other, and she was being as cautious as possible, but this was getting dangerous. Adrien needed serious help, and their secret identities weren’t important compared to their lives. 

“I’m fine, milady. Please don’t worry about me too much.” 

“Well, okay then...Shall we get going?” Ladybug knew this was a bad idea, but she needed to get him to admit that he needed help, otherwise he wouldn’t accept it. She stood quickly and extended her hand out to Chat, who was still sitting on the roof. He took it and pulled himself up quickly. She could see that he regretted that move as soon as he made it. His face went even paler, and he crumpled, collapsing into Ladybug’s waiting arms like a rag doll.

She said a word that Marinette would not approve of, and lowered him to the cement floor, holding his head gently in her lap. Now that he had less control he was openly shaking and breathing seemed to be getting harder and harder. She reached down and brushed his hair off of his forehead, pulling it away in shock when his skin burned under her touch. She had to get him home. Well, knowing Adrien’s dad, maybe not his home.

She reached down for his miraculous, shuddering at how wrong it felt to be doing this as she touched the black ring. He whimpered, his hand jerking away involuntarily and Ladybug retracted her fingers, stroking the back of his hand comfortingly with her thumb. “It’s okay, Chat. I won’t look. I know someone who can take care of you. You’re okay.” She gently slid the ring off his finger and there was a flash of green light as his transformation faded away. She saw a small black creature who must have been his kwami float over and put a tiny paw on his pale cheek. 

“I should have helped him. I should have tried harder.” 

Marinette lifted the boy with little difficulty, praying to whoever was listening that it was Ladybug’s strength helping her and not Adrien’s extreme weightlessness.

0o0

Sabine was just bagging up a pastry for the last customers, a charming young American couple on their honeymoon, when Marinette burst through the doors carrying a barely conscious Adrien in her arms. She wanted to say she had been surprised, but ever since she had seen him walking by yesterday and noticed how awful he looked, she could tell he would drop any minute. Now he looked even worse. He was pale and shivering hard, and it didn’t seem to take any effort on Marinette’s part to hold him, other than the height difference. And she looked so scared for him it broke Sabine’s heart. As soon as Marinette came through the door the customers stepped back to give the three some room.

“I was walking in the park and Adrien was there alone so I invited him to walk with me and it was dark so I didn’t know he was so bad and when he stood up he suddenly got really pale and he passed out and I didn’t know what to do and I didn’t think anyone would be there to take care of him at his house so I brought him here and-“ 

Sabine stopped her by placing both of her hands on her shoulders and saying in her gentlest voice, “Marinette. Calm down honey. Take him upstairs and have him lay down. I’ll be up there to help as soon as I’m done with these customers.” Said customers, a short tan guy with curly black hair and a tall, pale boy with chestnut hair, came forward, the latter looking somewhat disturbed.

The taller man spoke in perfect French with barely an accent. “Was that Adrien Agreste?! I…his father’s fashion is my inspiration!” Then his voice got quieter. “Is he alright?” While he was gushing his husband was hurriedly paying for their croissants. The baker scoffed at his words.

“Yeah, starving your only son is very inspirational.” She muttered. His eyes widened dramatically. 

“He what?” he squeaked as his husband practically dragged him from the bakery.

As soon as the door was closed Sabine rushed to her daughter’s side and slung one of the unconscious boy’s arms over her shoulder, helping to bear him up the steep stairs to the living room. She and Marinette laid him gently on the couch, covering him with blankets.

“Stay here with him; I’m going to go make him some soup.” Marinette nodded dutifully, sitting in the chair next to Adrien. Sabine pretended not to notice as her daughter took her classmate’s hand. 

The Chinese woman opened the fridge and pulled out the homemade chicken soup from the previous night’s dinner, setting it in the microwave to reheat. She gave herself the thirty seconds to mentally scream at Adrien’s father before the timer went off and she pulled the soup from the microwave. When she came back into the living room, Adrien was slowly regaining consciousness, with Marinette rubbing circles in the back of his hand with her thumb and speaking to him softly.

“Adrien, honey,” Sabine crooned, helping the trembling boy sit up, “Here, I made you some soup.” The baker handed the bowl to her daughter to spoon into Adrien’s mouth, and moved behind him to prop some pillows behind his back. He was looking around blearily, his face pale and his eyes dull and drifting. 

“Wh…wha..?” Adrien’s chin was quivering and his breathing started coming faster; Sabine could see his chest rising and falling imperceptibly, but rapidly. They couldn’t have that.

“Shh, hey, it’s alright. You’re in my house now. Breathe, Adrien. Come on. Do you remember passing out?” 

He shook his head weakly. His eyes were wide and vacant, scanning her face. 

“Okay, Sweetheart. How about you try to eat as much soup as you can and then you can rest.” Adrien nodded, seemingly done with protesting. At Sabine’s cue Marinette gently held the spoon to the model’s lips, and he hesitantly sipped the hot broth from it. They struggled through half of the bowl before Adrien held up a shaky hand at the offer of another spoonful.

“I…I can’t…” 

“It’s okay,” Sabine said, pushing the child’s hair from his face soothingly. “I can imagine it would be hard to suddenly eat so much.” Feebly, Adrien nodded, and then snuggled down into the blankets, his eyelids drifting shut. He was still shivering, and he obviously had a fever, but his face had regained some color. That was good. The woman’s eyes went to Marinette, who had been silent throughout the entire ordeal. She beckoned her daughter to the kitchen. She squeezed the sleeping boy’s hand and reluctantly followed her mother.

As soon as they made it into the kitchen Sabine pulled Marinette into her arms and the girl buried her head in her mother’s shoulder. “It’s not fair,” she muttered.

“Bad things happen to the best people.” Sabine hugged her tightly before pulling away to rest her hands on Marinette’s shoulders. The girl had tears in her eyes. It blew her mind how much Marinette cared about Adrien. This wasn’t just a schoolgirl crush; Sabine could see it in the way she stumbled over her words and blushed when she saw him or talked about him and in the worry and fear on her face when he was in trouble. This was love. Sabine was glad it wasn’t any other boy. She already loved Adrien like a mother would. His sweet smile and kind eyes and intelligence had ensnared her almost as quickly as he did Marinette. Just being around him through her protective mama bear instincts into overdrive. If it was legally possible, she would have exposed Gabriel’s true nature by now and taken Adrien in, but she didn’t have any evidence of neglect so there wasn’t much she could do. 

“But why him, mama?” Marinette’s cheeks were wet, her eyes glistening. Sabine smiled sadly.

“Probably because he’s one of those ‘best people.’” 

The two women rushed around getting things ready for their guest. They changed the sheets on the barely used guest bed, and picked up around the dusty room. Neither of them was sure how long Adrien would be staying, but they were definitely not letting him go back to his father’s house that night.

With that, they woke up Tom from his nap. 

In hushed voices they explained to him the situation and he automatically agreed that Adrien would stay, at least for the night. 

Sabine handed Marinette a thermometer and a glass of water to go check on Adrien while she and Tom had a talk.

Marinette’s POV

Marinette pulled up a chair from the kitchen table and sat next to Adrien, once again taking his hand in hers. The fingers were long and bony, almost skeletal, but they were always like that. Really his hands seemed to be the only thing not altered by this whole ordeal. She set the glass of water on the coffee table and ever so gently opened Adrien’s mouth, slipping the thermometer under his tongue. He rolled over slightly, mumbling under his breath, “No Plagg. I’m not hungry. Just stop.” Marinette smiled. His kwami, who hadn’t showed himself since they had gotten there, must have tried to feed him while he slept. The tiny creature crawled out from his pocket and crawled up to curl up in the corner where Adrien’s neck met his shoulder, staring up at her with bright emerald eyes. 

Tiki squeaked and flew into him, crying, “Plagg!!! It’s so great to see you!” 

Plagg smiled widely, hugging her tightly. “It’s been too long, milady.”

Marinette would have watched to two ancient beings adorably catch up had it not been for the thermometer in Adrien’s mouth beeping loudly. She took it and read the numbers, suppressing a gasp. 101.2. She fished out an ice cube from the cup and tucked it under Adrien’s tongue, tilting his head forward to keep him from choking. The blond teen moaned softly and shifted.

“Adrien?” Marinette asked, gripping her friend’s hand tighter.

“Ladybug?” he mumbled, his eyes still closed. Marinette hesitated. Telling Adrien and her parents two different stories would be risky. But it was likely that no one would mention how he got there anyhow.

“No… It’s me. Uhh… Marinette… Ladybug brought you here. You were unconscious when she dropped you off, so I brought you inside to sleep on the couch. You have a pretty bad fever. Mom will get you some medicine as soon as she’s done talking to Dad, and then we’ll move you to a real bed, okay?” Adrien nodded weakly, and the two sat in companionable silence, Adrien either not noticing or choosing not to mention the fact that their hands were still clasped together. 

Then there was a low purr from Adrien’s shoulder and Marinette paled. Adrien didn’t know she knew that he was Chat Noir, or that she was Ladybug. What would he say to seeing both kwamis sitting together out in the open like that? There would be only one conclusion. But maybe if she could convince him he was hallucinating… Too late. He was already staring wide-eyed at the two kwamis. Tiki squeaked in alarm and hid in Marinette’s jacket. She could feel his eyes on her, but she couldn’t seem to look up from the ground. “Marinette?” She winced. He said her name with so much shock and disbelief. Of course the klutzy girl with the stutter couldn’t be his cool confident Ladybug. Of course he was shocked. “Y-You’re Ladybug?” 

She felt herself nod even though her mind was still racing. She had lied to him and he was going to hate her. 

The tension in the room could be cut with a knife.

Apparently Plagg was a knife.

“Smooth,” he said to the lump in Marinette’s jacket. Marinette and Adrien stared at him with wide eyes, and then burst out laughing. 

“That time you had this random photo shoot that you were late for even though your chauffeur wasn’t there to pick you up!”

“And-and that time you were about to throw up even though you felt fine a second before!” 

“You’re allergic to feathers!” They doubled over laughing again, even though Adrien’s laughter was strained and he broke into a coughing fit almost immediately. Marinette wrapped her arm around his shoulders, waiting until the coughing had subsided to hand him the glass of water. 

Then her mom and dad came into the room, sitting in armchairs across from the couch. When Tiki zoomed back into Marinette’s pocket, Plagg followed suit. Marinette and Adrien had to stifle their giggles. 

“Adrien,” Papa stepped forward, kneeling next to where Adrien was propped up. “I don’t think we’ve met before; I’m Tom, Marinette’s father.” Marinette could hear the if you hurt my daughter I will slay you tone that her dad was carefully concealing, but fortunately Adrien seemed oblivious.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Dupain-Cheng.” There was that mask again. Polite, charming, but cold. Papa’s eyes softened.

“Tom,” He insisted. Adrien looked down, but nodded. 

“Adrien,” Mama interrupted when the silence grew awkward, “Tom and I have agreed that it would be best if you stay the night.” 

His head snapped up. “No! You don’t need to do that. I can go back to my father’s place. You don’t need to do anything for me.” 

“Adrien, just because we don’t need to help you doesn’t mean we aren’t going to. You’re in no condition to go home, and from what I’ve heard you won’t be very well taken care of there. We want to help you. Okay?”

He nodded, his eyes averted to the floor. Mama smiled. “Marinette, what was his temperature?” 

Marinette grimaced. “101.2.” 

Her mother’s eyes widened. “Adrien! You should be laying down. Here, I’ll get you some medicine for your fever.” 

Adrien didn’t protest. He had completely given in to their hospitality. Good. That would make it a lot easier to take care of him. Mama returned with a pill which he swallowed easily. Marinette and Papa supported him into Marinette’s bedroom, where they had agreed he would sleep until he had gotten better, or at least well enough for them to not worry about him. They laid him on the bed, covering him up with a thick quilt that Marinette’s grandmother had made. She set his glass of water on the bed side table. “Try to drink a lot,” she advised, “It will help you get better.”

Adrien nodded, snuggling deeper into his blanket cave, curling into a tiny ball on his side, and immediately falling asleep. Mama pushed Adrien’s hair from his eyes and planted a gentle kiss on his forehead. “I’m going to go put on pajamas,” she said before slipping away. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It was close to midnight when Marinette woke up with two tiny sets of hands poking at her cheek. She rolled over and opened her eyes to see two more sets staring at her with alarm. “Whadayawan?” Then it all came back to her and she sat up quickly. 

She practically leaped off her loft to run to Adrien’s side. If the kwamis woke her up then it must be bad. He was still asleep, but he was twisting and turning, his face bright red with liquid beading down it. The sheets were soaked in sweat, wound around his legs and he was trembling, thrashing around like he was trying to escape from them. His breath came in high wheezes. Marinette grabbed the thermometer and slipped it into his mouth, using her left hand to hold his head in place. He moaned softly. “Mari…”

“Hold on, Adrien,” she said, “You’re okay. Just hold on.” The thermometer beeped and she took it out quickly. 104.1. She gasped. Next time she saw Gabriel she was going to kill him. “Okay Adrien, I’m going to go get my mom. I’ll be right back.”

When Marinette quietly opened the door to her parent’s bedroom, her mother immediately sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“How’s Adrien?” She asked, putting on her mom face. Marinette smiled. She really cared about her daughter’s friends.

“His fever’s way worse. 104. I don’t know what to do…”

Mama quickly took control. “Go get a washcloth and soak it in room-temperature water and grab some medicine. The bottle should still be sitting on the table.” It didn’t take long to get the stuff for Adrien, and soon she was back by his side, dabbing his forehead with the cloth. Mama left once she decided there was nothing else she could do to help him and Marinette all but insisted that she go back to bed.

Adrien was more awake now, propped up against the pillows with like twenty blankets wrapped around him. He and Marinette stared at each other for a moment.

“Mari,” He said softly. “I was wondering, well…”

“Yeah?” She prompted him.

“It’s just that I didn’t realize until the other day when your mom hugged me, that, well, I haven’t slept with anyone since my mother died.” Marinette felt her face grow so hot she thought that her fever might be worse than Adrien’s.

“W-w-what?!”

“Nononononono, not like that,” he quickly amended, “I just…haven’t, you know, cuddled with someone, and…” Adrien drifted off and his cheeks went redder than Marinette’s. The girl softened. Wordlessly she climbed into the bed next to her best friend and pulled his head onto her chest, running her fingers through his soft hair. He stiffened, seeming to not know what to do with himself. That was alright. Marinette maneuvered his cocooned body so that no jagged bones were pressing into uncomfortable places.

“I’m gonna turn on a movie,” she murmured softly, and he nodded in agreement, snaking a hand out to curl into her silk pajama shirt. A few buttons on the remote and her favorite comfort film was in front of her.

“The Princess Bride? That sounds lame” Adrien mumbled, and she swatted him in the head.

“Just watch. You’ll like it, I promise.”

As Wesley and Buttercup escaped from the Fire swamp, the medicine seemed to take hold of Adrien fully. His eyes were half closed and his head was resting completely on her shoulder. Still, he was making an effort not to miss even a second of the movie. He had been captivated since Buttercup was kidnapped. “Do you want me to pause it so we can finish tomorrow?” she whispered. 

She felt him nod and she turned off the TV. The only light in the room came from the window as the entire city of Paris made an effort to replace the absent sun with its midnight brilliance, every building competing to be brighter than the next so the city formed a intricate spider’s web of gold and silver until it all filtered in through Marinette’s curtains to land on the faces of its saviors. Marinette carefully helped Adrien settle with his head resting in her lap, her nimble seamstress’s fingers weaving slowly through his golden hair. Now that they were alone and both slightly loopy from exhaustion, Marinette could finally say the words she had been trying to say for a long time. “Never think you’re not useful,” she whispered. She felt him shift in her lap. “That goes for you and Chat Noir. I couldn’t do anything without you. You deserve the sun and the moon and the stars and everything in between and I will never let you forget that. You are worth so much, Adrien.”

If anyone asked her later, she would have denied it, or blamed on lack of sleep, but the words that were spoken as the clock ticked past midnight were as real as the shining sun or the crystal moon.

“I love you.” 

Dawn was finally coming.


	3. Chapter 3

Adrien woke while it was still dark, the city lights brushing through Marinette’s curtains and resting across his face. She must have changed his position after he fell asleep, because he had gone from laying with his head on her lap to being curled up facing her, her arms wrapped tightly around him. Not wanting to wake Marinette, Adrien rolled his head to the side, the neon green numbers on the digital clock blurring in front of his aching eyes. 5:30. This was about the time he usually woke up for school. Even in days when he didn’t have school and he could wake up a little later, he liked to be up before the sun. He liked to climb up onto the roof of the mansion as Paris was coming to life, enjoying the smell of fresh pastries that seemed to always drift his direction on the wind; the forbidden fruit that he would never taste. 

Now, lying next to Marinette on her bed, that same smell was twice as strong. He realized that the smell he looked forward to every morning was coming from her house. He smiled, sitting up without disturbing his lady. Reaching out, Adrien pawed around on Marinette’s nightstand for his phone, which he hadn’t checked since before he went out as Chat Noir last night. After scrambling to turn the brightness down, he squinted at the lock screen, blinking the spots out of his eyes. The screen was taken up by notifications, some from his dad and Nathalie, but mostly from Nino.

2h: Call from Nathalie

2h5:

'You’re not in your room. Where are you?'

-Nathalie

2h6: Call from Nathalie x2

2h8:

'Answer my calls, Adrien.'

-Nathalie

2h9:

'I’m getting your father.'

-Nathalie

How did she even know he was gone at 2 a.m. anyways? Creepy.

2h20: Call from Father x2

2h23:

'If you don’t come home right now I’m taking you out of school permanently.'

-Father

Adrien’s stomach dropped. He couldn’t be taken out of school. Class was the only time he got to see his friends.

2h30: Call from Nino x5

2h37:

'Dude your dad called me. Where are you?'

-Nino

2h40:

'You’re scaring me dude, pick up the phone.'

-Nino

2h45:

'Okay I promise I won’t tell your dad where you are if that’s what this is. Just tell me you’re okay. I’m kind of freaking out.'

-Nino

Adrian quickly typed out an answer. 'I’m okay. Sorry I freaked you out.'

His phone chimed with an answer almost instantly. 'What’s going on? Where are you?'

Adrien hesitated, his fingers hovering over the keyboard. He couldn’t tell Nino the truth without telling him about Chat Noir. Recently, he had been really open with his friend about his problems with his father, so Nino probably wouldn’t find it too inconceivable if Adrien said he’d run away, but letting Nino think that would be opening a whole new can of worms Adrien didn’t want to deal with. He’d keep his answers vague and simple and hope Nino got the message to just drop it. 'I’m with Marinette. Everything’s fine.'

'Why are you with Marinette? Why didn’t you tell your dad you were going there?'

Adrien sighed, trying to answer honestly to Nino without giving him too much. 'I got sick and she took me back to her place to help. I didn’t tell father because I didn’t really want him to drag me home and lock me in my room until I get better. Please don’t tell him you know where I am.'

'Sorry that you’re sick. That really blows. So you didn’t run away?'

Adrien broke his father’s rule on a daily basis, but he never thought he’d go as far as actually running away, even if it’s really starting to feel like that’s what he did. 'No. I’ll go home eventually.' 

'Alright. I’m glad you’re with Marinette at least. She’ll take good care of you.'

'Yeah she’s really great.'

'Okay man I have to go. Stay safe, okay?'

'Okay, thanks for checking up on me.'

Adrien stood up, ignoring the painful head rush that resulted and stretching his arms over his head, bouncing on the balls of his feet and resisting the urge to purr as he felt his muscles pull and burn before relaxing back onto his heels. 

“Plagg,” he whispered. His kwami drifted to his shoulder, placing a tiny, cold paw on his cheek.

“Are you feeling okay, Adrien?” he asked, his voice full of concern.

“I feel a lot better,” Adrien assured him. “I just need some air. Some time to think. Transform me?”

“Sure.”

He reveled in the rush of power and freedom that came with the transformation, like breathing in frigid air after standing in the hot sun for hours. He felt alive and refreshed, totally empowered. He could do whatever he wanted. He silently opened the trap door and slipped out onto the roof, frigid wind biting his exposed cheeks and eyes. Chat Noir climbed up onto the domed roof of the bakery.

Paris slept peacefully for once. At this hour, the city was just waking up, and still half-asleep adults wore their whole upcoming day on their faces. The sharp-faced brunette woman at a stop light was a single mom juggling two jobs and hoping to get an acting break. The fidgety man with the 100% polyester suit on the corner had an important meeting later in the day. The woman running completely off of coffee was expecting a promotion. Watching them, Chat Noir could almost pretend to be them, to live another life besides his own incredibly screwed up one. He laid down on his back, staring through half closed emerald eyes at the sky, trying to imagine all the stars that had been visible thousands of years ago, wondering what this city would look like if the stars were still there. He pictured all the city lights, still on and blinking, suddenly becoming detached like dew drops being shaken off a blade of grass and flying into the night sky to replace thousands of constellations. An apology. A sacrifice. His eyes closed.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=

When he woke up the next time, his first thought was, Shit. The sky is bleeding. He hadn’t actually gotten to enjoy a Parisian sunrise since he was little, and his father didn’t expect nearly as much from him. The horizon was so red, it looked like it was on fire. He smiled contentedly. It was a Saturday, so he didn’t have to worry about missing school, and at this point, he felt like he had defied his father so much that he was off the hook. He could stay sitting on that roof all day if he wanted, and no one would know it was him.

“What are you thinking about?”

Chat Noir jumped a foot into the air, nearly tumbling down off the roof. Ladybug laughed, her smile lighting up the whole city. It was weird, seeing her and knowing who she is. She looked the same, yet completely different at the same time. Still, he couldn’t call her Marinette, not even in his own head. It just felt wrong. They were two distinctly different people, just as Chat Noir and Adrien were.

“M-My lady! I didn’t see you there,” he yawned. He didn’t understand how he was so tired, since he thought he had slept enough last night to avoid that issue, but still his entire body ached with exhaustion. “I was just taking a little cat nap.”

“Good. You need your sleep. Mama’s done with breakfast. You should to come down and eat something.”

As soon as she said it his stomach growled in protest. He really wasn’t hungry. Sure, theoretically, he was starving. He had missed a lot of meals in his life, and he should be ready to eat the entire bakery, but even that half of a bowl of soup the night before had been a struggle. His stomach seemed to be punishing him for not feeding it. Fine, you won’t give me food when I want it? Then you can’t enjoy food when you want it. Still though, after last night, there really was no point to trying to avoid eating. Marinette would never allow it, and certainly not her mother. “Sounds good to me.”

She stood, then offered her hand to help him do the same, and he took it gratefully. As always, there was a spark of electricity that surged through his body when they touched. It was such a cliché, but this felt like more than romantic chemistry. The purpose of their powers, that Chat Noir and Ladybug had been paired together to balance each other out, that neither of them could function without the other, was no secret to the two of them. He liked to believe that the spark he felt was their two orientations of powers nudging at each other, maybe even fighting for dominance, because every time he touched her he felt happy and confidant, and maybe that was some of her power leaking into him. That notion scared him though, since, if he was getting feedback from her powers, then she could be getting the same from him.

How could she stand touching him? Ladybug represented light and good luck, but Chat’s powers channeled bad luck and destruction. Did touching him make her feel bad? That was probably why Ladybug was the one everyone looked up to, the one that purified the akumas. the one who actually mattered. Ladybug would do fine if he didn’t show up to a battle, but if he was fighting alone, he’d be fucked. His only purpose was to keep her alive, so she could do the important work. No matter how much she denied it, Chat Noir was Ladybug’s sidekick.

“Earth to Adrien,” she said, waving a spotted hand in front of his face, “Are you with me?”

Adrien. She called him Adrien. Did that mean she wanted him to call her Marinette? Did that mean she considered Adrien and Chat Noir to be the same person? Did that mean that, since Ladybug didn’t have feelings for Chat Noir, Marinette would never have feelings for Adrien? And if Ladybug and Marinette were the same person then that must mean he has a crush on Marinette. He shut his eyes. This was too confusing.

Then there was a click. A very familiar, very intimidating click. The click of Ayla’s favorite birthday present, courtesy of Adrien himself. Her new, very big, very fancy camera.

Ladybug and Chat Noir’s heads snapped to look down at Alya, who was waving at them and taking pictures, the rising sun catching her hair on fire. “Shit,” Ladybug muttered. Chat Noir almost laughed. He could never imagine Marinette cursing, but it seemed so natural from Ladybug’s lips. Then she dropped his hand, which she had still been holding. “Shit. I’m sorry, Adrien. I forgot Alya was coming over this morning to work on a project.”

“That’s fine,” he said, “I should probably get going anyways. Thank you for everything.” He made to run off, bit she grabbed his hand tightly.

“You should stay.”

“I don’t- “

“You’re staying.” The force with which she said this knocked any argument from his lungs. They looked down to watch Ayla run inside the bakery. They slipped back inside Marinette’s room quickly and released their transformations. They could hear Alya chatting with Marinette’s parents downstairs, but she sounded rushed. They didn’t have much time to do damage control. “Adrien,” Marinette whispered, “Go pretend to be asleep.”

“Why?” he asked. It wasn’t like he could hide from Alya all day.

“If she doesn’t believe that you’re sick enough to not be able to go home, then she’ll get suspicious. Just trust me.” That didn’t sound very logical, but Alya wasn’t the most logical person.

Adrien crawled into Marinette’s bed, trying to ignore how soft it was and how much he loved its smell, like coffee and cotton candy and fresh morning mist. He drifted off. Again.


	4. Chapter 4

“Marinette!” Alya cried, hastening into the blunette’s bedroom. Marinette jumped, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Adrian flinch slightly in his “sleep”. Although he was supposed to be just pretending to sleep, Marinette didn’t doubt that he either was actually sleeping, or was almost at that point. “You won’t believe who I just saw on your roof!” Alya didn’t take time to speak directly to Marinette, so she was already across the room and climbing onto the roof.

“Who?” Even if Marinette wasn’t Ladybug, she would have known exactly who it was by Ayla’s level of freakout.

Alya poked her head out of the trapdoor, and then clambered up with a frustrated groan. “They’re gone! Damn it!”

“Who’s gone?” Marinette called up to her. Alya jumped back down into the room, flipping through the pictures on her camera, her russet hair falling in her face and her glasses sliding down her nose, so she had to hold them to her face with one hand.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir were on your roof.” Marinette smiled, pretending to be excited. Really, she felt anything but that. She was tired. Tired from worrying about Adrian’s wellbeing. Exhausted from hiding who she is from everyone she knew and everyone she loved. But now that Adrien knew, now that Chat Noir knew, it felt like a giant weight had been lifted off her shoulders, but there was still something missing, something that constricted her stomach at night when she was trying to sleep. “And they were just sitting there! Just… chilling! And it’s daytime too! You never seen them in the day except for when there’s an attack or some kind of event! It’s pretty common to see them at night, but just hanging out during the day? It’s…“ Then Ayla happened to glance up and past Marinette. At Marinette’s bed. And her words just… died.

She lunged forward, grabbing Marinette by the elbows and staring into her eyes with a comical intensity. “Marinette,” she whispered sharply, “You do know Adrien Agreste is sleeping in your bed, right?!”

“I know,” Marinette responded in a much gentler tone. “Come downstairs. We can have some breakfast and talk.” She knew for a fact that Alya hadn’t had breakfast yet. She usually forgot to eat in the mornings, so Marinette made sure to always bring a pastry from the bakery to school for her friend. Marinette picked up a blanket from the back of a nearby and tucked it gently over Adrien, brushing his bangs out of his face and feeling his forehead. He still felt feverish, but his condition was improving. 

She led Alya, who seemed obligated to keep both eyes on Adrien at all times, down to the living room and sat her down on the couch, escaping to the kitchen to grab some food. Marinette watched from the corner of her eye as Alya turned the new turn of events over in her head, and then an incredulous look passed over her face. That was when Marinette realized exactly what must be going through her head. She stopped her before she could speak her mind. “It’s not like that!”

“I didn’t accuse you of anything,” Alya responded coolly, a painfully wide smile lighting up her face and contradicting her smooth voice.

“But I know what you’re thinking, and I did not do that!”

Alya started laughing, and continued to do so for an almost obscene amount of time. “Did you mean… do him?”

“No!” Marinette yelped.

“Then why is he in your bed? I swear, girl, if you scored a date with that boy without telling me, I will rip your head from your shoulders.”

Marinette finished heating up a pastry and brought it over to Ayla, setting it on the coffee table and sitting down next to her friend. “Alya. It wasn’t a date.”

Ayla’s smile faded as she picked up on Marinette’s seriousness. “Then what…?” 

“He…” Marinette didn’t know how to phrase the explanation to her best friend. She didn’t want to breach his privacy, but Marinette always told Alya everything. Keeping this from her felt wrong. “He got sick. Like, really sick. I found him in the park and he looked like he was about to drop. So, I was talking to him and he just passed out right in front of me. I didn’t think he would be taken care of at home, so I took him back with me.”

“You carried him?”

“It was too easy. We took care of him the best that we could, but last night, his fever got up to 104. It got really bad. I just keep wondering what would have happened if I hadn’t found him… If he had been alone he could have…” Marinette trailed off, not wanting to voice her thought.

“What does he have?”

“We don’t know. I was doing some research on the internet, and I found out that malnutrition can seriously harm your immune system. Adrien’s father had been forcing him to do this terrible diet for a fashion show, and I’m pretty sure he passed out because he needed food, but he got sick because being malnourished brought his immune system way down.” 

“Makes sense.”

“I’m just… so mad at his father for doing this to him. And he doesn’t even seem to care. As far as we know, he hasn’t tried to contact Adrian at all, so he probably didn’t even notice his own son is gone!”

“Marinette, I know this sucks, but one of has to keep a level head, and we both know it’s not going to be me. You take care of Adrien, and I will personally wring M. Agreste’s neck.” 

“I’m pretty sure we’d be arrested for that,” Marinette giggled. She would definitely love for Ladybug to go and kick some ass, but she knew it wasn’t an option.

“You would be.” The two girls looked up, shocked. They hadn’t heard Adrien enter. He was standing in the doorway, a blanket from Marinette’s bed wrapped tightly around his thin frame, swimming in Papa’s clothes and rubbing his eyes with a closed fist. His hair was mussed from sleep and his skin was flushed pink, bringing out his tired green eyes. He was just so damn cute that Marinette wanted to melt. 

“Adrien!” Marinette yelped, jumping up off the couch to walk over to him, feeling his forehead again. He still felt feverish. “How do you feel?”

“Better. Not great, but better.” He yawned, leaning on the wall. “Tired.”

“Then you should sit down. I’ll make you some breakfast. Do you prefer cinnamon or apple?” Adrien sat next to Alya on the couch hesitantly and the girl squinted at him.

“I don’t eat breakfast.”

“Too bad,” she said, sticking both pastries in the microwave anyway. “If you don’t choose one, you’re eating both.”

“I… um…” He stammered for a moment. Marinette being assertive was a rare occurrence, especially around Adrien. Revealing Ladybug had done wonders for her confidence. “Apple.”

“Ok.” She finished heating the pastry, and the sweet scent filled the air. Adrien seemed to visibly melt into the aroma. Marinette set the plate on the coffee table. “It’s hot. I would let it sit for a minute. Here.” She held a thermometer in front of his mouth and he flinched back instinctively (it was probably just a habit from being a superhero; Marinette did the same thing when something came at her face), then opened his mouth slightly to let Marinette place it gently under his tongue. His bright eyes flicked up to hers for a moment, and Marinette’s brain short-circuited. They were just so big and bright a full of trust. He trusted her. God, she wanted to kiss him. The thermometer beeped, startling Marinette out of her daze, and she slid it from his mouth. 101.4. It was definitely an improvement from last night, but he was still sick. “You still have a fever. Finish eating, and then I’ll get you some medicine.”

He smiled, taking a small amount of the pastry in his mouth. As soon as it hit his tongue he moaned, his eyes falling closed. “Marinette this is so good.” 

“Thank you! It’s a new recipe.” Turning away so Adrien couldn’t see her heavy blush, Marinette headed into another room to look for in medicine. Instead she found her mom.

Marinette had never seen her mom look so angry. She was hissing into her cell phone, her voice low and dangerous, and Marinette could barely hear snippets of her side of the conversation. “Don’t give me these excuses monsieur. Nothing you can say will justify what you’ve done to that boy. … I will not calm down! He could have died last night if my family and I hadn’t been with him. … … … I don’t care about what you would have done, I care that you didn’t do it. This is your son we’re talking about here! Do you not care about him?! … … … … I know he’s your employee too, but he’s your son first, and you’re killing him! … Don’t hang up on me you-“ She was cut off, apparently by Adrian’s dad hanging up. Sabine sat down heavily, holding her head in her hands.

“Mama?” Marinette asked softly. Sabine jumped. There were bags under her eyes and the lines on her face were hard and deep. Marinette felt a pang of guilt for putting her through this.

“Honey.” She sat up. “How much of that did you hear?”

Marinette cringed. “Enough.” There was a long pause. “Mama… Thank you… For being so okay with this. You were 100% on board with helping him this whole time and then defending him like this… thank you.” She hugged her mom tightly.

“Anytime, Marinette. How is Adrien?”

“He’s awake and eating breakfast right now. He’s very tired, and he still has a low fever, but he’s a lot better. I was looking for some medicine.”

Sabine peeked into the living room, where Adrien and Alya were making awkward small talk. Adrien had eaten half of his pastry, and was now working on a glass of water that Ayla must have brought him. “You go and join your friends. I’ll bring the medicine.”

Marinette kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you, Mama. I love you.”

She had just sunk into the couch next to Adrien when there was a deafening crash from outside. Marinette jumped, her heart racing as the entire building shuddered. She made eye contact with Adrien and they came to a silent agreement. Adrien grabbed Ayla’s arm and made for the stairs, while Marinette tore into the adjacent room in search of her mother. She found her cowering next to a chair, her hands over her head. “Mama. We need out get out of here. It isn’t safe.”

Sabine swallowed convulsively, and stood, taking Marinette’s offered hand and the two of them ran towards the stairs, only to be stopped by Adrien, Ayla, and Tom. “The exits are blocked off,” Adrien panted. His face was flushed, and he was leaning slightly on Ayla for support. “The roof?”

It was a dangerous bet. On the roof, unless Marinette and Adrien were willing to reveal their identities, no one would be able to get down if something happened, and they’d be easy targets if this was an attack, which was likely. Still, it was better than staying in an unstable building and risk being crushed. “Okay.” 

They went through Marinette’s room and climbed up the ladder to her balcony. The air outside was chilly, and the light breeze bit her skin. Looking around, she noticed her other family members and her friends hunching in on themselves; Adrien was already starting to shiver. “I’ll be right back,” she said. She climbed back down into her room and gathered as many blankets as she could, tossing them back up through the trap door. When she came back through her family was already wrapping themselves up in the blankets, and she didn’t miss the way they gave Adrien preference, handing him the thickest and fluffiest blankets. He had gone pale, and his shivers were growing worse. The cold and stress was not good for his health. Marinette went to the edge of the roof, trying to see what was causing the trouble. People were running and screaming on the streets, the building across from the bakery had collapsed, blocking the exits with rubble, but Marinette couldn’t see the threat. She felt Adrien come to stand next to her, close enough so that her family couldn’t hear what was being said, looking out toward the Eiffel tower.

“We won’t be able to get away to transform. They’d notice that we aren’t there.”

“I know,” Marinette whispered, “I don’t have much of a choice.”

“We,” he corrected. “If you don’t think I’m going with you you’re wrong.”

“You’re sick,” she reminded him, “I don’t want you to get hurt.” 

“I was thinking the same thing about you.”

Marinette felt a sudden buildup of emotion that she couldn’t explain even to herself. “Adrien, really. I don’t want you to get hurt! You’re too important to me. If you got hurt, it would kill me!”

He gave her a strange look, his eyes guarded and sharp. “You don’t mean that.”

“I do-“

“No, you don’t.”

Then everything went to hell. 

The wobbly but determined walk of a 2-year-old was considered cute by most people’s standards. It wasn’t as cute when the toddler was 50 feet tall. Her momentum as she turned the corner sent her slamming her side into a building, rock and brick flying everywhere and endangering the people running desperately below her crushing feet. She let out a shriek of rage and raised one pudgy arm, brandishing a giant plastic rattle before slamming it into the street, barely missing a car and bringing up an explosion of pavement. The shockwaves from the impact brought on a new wave of chaos as windows shattered and people below were knocked off their feet. Marinette shot out an arm to steady Adrien as the ground shuddered and his knees buckled, nearly making him fall. 

“Bordel de merde,” Adrien muttered, his face going white as a sheet. He turned to Marinette, the discomfort of the previous moment temporarily forgotten, “You can’t take this one alone.” 

Marinette nodded slowly, her wide eyes never leaving the enormous baby as she toddled down the street towards them. “We can’t avoid revealing our identities, can we?”

“No.”

“Okay.” She took a deep breath and turned to face her family (she included Ayla as part of her family at this point), trying to come up with something to say. Then she heard another shriek from the baby and Adrien cursed again, his hand grabbing onto Marinette‘s bicep and making her spin back around to face the street. The baby had locked eyes on the little group on the roof, specifically on Ayla, who had stood up to take videos of the akuma’s rampage. She ran for the building, her rattle raised above her head, hollering the whole time. Ayla froze, her hands still up and holding the phone, and Adrien and Marinette jumped into action. Glowing light enveloped the two of them as they transformed, and with a flick of her wrist Ladybug’s yoyo wrapped around Ayla’s waist and pulled her to safety while Chat Noir attacked head-on, blocking the strike with his baton and then springing up, smacking the toddler in the face, effectively taking her attention away from Marinette’s family.

Ladybug set Alya on her feet where the girl was left gaping at her, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. “Y-you. You’re-“

“I know. I’ll explain everything later.” Chat was fighting alone and sick, and Ladybug needed to be there to help him.

“A-and Adrien. He’s-“

“I know. I need to go help him, so you’re going to be okay, right?”

Ayla gave the smallest of nods, but it was enough. Ladybug leaped off the roof, not even glancing at her parents as she followed the path of destruction left by the baby, who had been lured away by Chat Noir. She didn’t want to see the looks on their faces; Ladybug couldn’t afford to be distracted by that right now. 

She found Chat and the baby a few blocks away. Thankfully, Chat was being smarter than she expected him to be, hopping from building to building and shouting insults instead of attacking head on. Ladybug swung in next to him where he had landed on a chimney, resting a hand on his shoulder to stay him as the baby got distracted by a flickering street lamp, ripping it from the ground and thumping to the ground to teethe on the end of it, her rampage momentarily forgotten. Chat was panting, and his face was flushed pink under the mask from the combination of the biting cold and the exercise, but there was an easy smirk on his face. Still, Ladybug had to be responsible. “Do you want to sit this one out, kitty?”

He waved her off. “I’m feeling just feline, my lady.” Ladybug smiled. She had been so scared that when they eventually revealed their identities to each other their whole dynamic would be hurt, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Just… don’t over exert yourself, okay? Don’t do anything stupid.” She was encroaching back on a touchy subject, but her instincts were screaming at her that letting him fight was a bad idea.

Chat Noir smiled, but Adrien’s eyes were guarded, sharp but cautious. Before she knew who he was she wouldn’t have seen it, but now it was so obvious, what was Adrien and what was Chat. He didn’t answer, for once at a loss for something clever to say. What was going on in his head?

The baby bit off the head of the lamp post and spat it out, where it clattered on the pavement, and the two heroes turned their attention back to her. “The akuma?” Chat asked, falling into a squat, and holding on to his staff in front of him.

Marinette scanned the baby with her eyes. “If I had to guess, I would say it’s the rattle.”

“Good thinking. She seems calm. You think I can get to it now without her freaking out?” 

“I… I don’t know Chat. I don’t think you should risk getting too close. You just stay back and distract her. I’ll get the akuma.”

“Fine,” he grumbled. He clearly wasn’t happy about being told to stay back, but he knew there would be no advantage in this fight if he argued with her. Without any warning other than the tensing of his muscles, he extended his baton and took off, leaping to the roof of the building across the street and letting out a piercing whistle. The baby whipped around, screeching at the sight of Chat, now perched on a lamppost. He grinned, extending his staff to bop her on the nose. She shrieked, stumbling to her feet, and raising the rattle above her head. Chat sat on his toes, ready to dodge the strike, and Ladybug made her move. She leaped soundlessly to the street, twirling her yoyo and looping it around the raised rattle, pulling with all her strength. The baby wailed and pulled back just as hard, sending Ladybug sprawling on the asphalt. She spun to Ladybug, ready to squash her, but Chat Noir threw himself from the top of the lamppost to land of the ball of the rattle.

The baby wailed, shaking the rattle hard and quick. Chat did his best to hold on, but he was fighting a losing battle, and soon he was sent crashing through the window of the second story of a stone building. “Chat!” Ladybug yelled, making to scale the building and go to his aid, but the baby intercepted her, reaching out with a pudgy hand. “Ok. I’m done playing. Lucy Charm!”

With a flash of light, a giant bubble wand fell into her outstretched hands. Without questioning it, she pulled out the wand and blew a big breath into it. Gigantic bubbles floated out, drifting around the baby’s head. She giggled loudly, dropping the rattle to bat at them. Ladybug ran to the akuma, lifted it with difficulty, and smashed it on the street, watching it crack in half. She purified the dark butterfly, then looked back up at the window, where Chat had disappeared, with a jolt of worry. He hadn’t come out. She jumped through the broken window, and gasped at the state Chat was in.

He was sitting slumped against a column, with a mess of broken desks, chairs, and glass shards marking his blood streaked path from the window. Chat’s light eyelashes fluttered against the black of the mask on his cheeks, and his suit was clearly torn and dripping blood all along his arms, legs, and back. As she rushed over to him, Ladybug could see little shards of glass stuck in his skin. “Kitty,” she whispered, kneeling next to him and running a gentle hand through his messy hair. Her fingers came away stained with blood. He made a small sound in the back of his throat, his head lolling into Ladybug’s touch. “Wake up, kitty. Come on. Wake up,” she pleaded.

Chat’s eyes fluttered open. He stared at her for a moment, uncomprehending, before the pain finally seemed to register and his face twisted, a soft whine escaping his gritted teeth. “My lady,” he gasped, ”…hurts.”

“Shh I know. You did so good though. We beat the akuma.” She wanted to scold him for putting himself in danger. She also wanted to hug him, hold him to her chest until he finally stopped hurting, but she couldn’t think of a single place she could touch him without causing him pain. She tried to go for his hand, but there was a long, triangular piece of glass wedged between the knuckles of his middle and index finger, and she didn’t want to touch it. “Where are you hurting?”

“Everywhere,” he answered, letting his head fall back on the column he was leaning on, wincing when his head made contact. 

“Okay, Chat. I’m going to take you home with me and we can fix you up. I need you to do something for me though.”

His eyes opened languidly, clearly struggling to focus on her. “What?”

“I need you to try and stay awake. Take deep breaths. Stay calm. Can you do that for me?” He gave a sluggish nod, and Ladybug could see how he was obediently forcing his breaths to even out. Sometimes it confused her, how he would do anything she asked of him no matter how much it hurt. Sometimes she worried that she was unknowingly taking advantage of him somehow. If she was hurting him, he’d never tell her. Delicately, Ladybug snaked one arm under his knees and the other behind his bleeding back, lifting him bridal style. Chat grunted, squeezing his eyes closed and taking harsh gasps of air through gritted teeth, letting his head collapse onto her shoulder. 

“You’re doing great, kitty,” she whispered. 

He didn’t respond, but Ladybug could feel his pained breaths puffing against her neck as she lept down to the street. Everything around her was still in rubble, and she only then realized that she hadn’t restored everything yet. Not feeling the usual spark of energy it brought her, Ladybug grabbed the bubble wand from off the ground, still supporting Chat awkwardly with one arm, and tossed it up into the air. She didn’t say the words, but Tiki took care of it. She watched buildings piece themselves back together, but she didn’t feel the usual happiness from it. That feeling was overshadowed by concern for Chat.

While Paris was restored, Ladybug took off at a jog toward her home. Chat’s head lolled back, his eyes starting to close. “I think fate’s had it out for you, huh Chat?”

“How did you know ‘bout that?” he slurred, his clouded eyes rolling up to meet hers for a second before slipping away again.

“About what?”

Chat didn’t respond. A downward glance found him unconscious in her arms, his lips parted and his breaths crystallized in front of his face. So much for staying awake, though she couldn’t blame him. He was still recovering from being sick, so he needed to get a lot of sleep.

It didn’t take long to make it back home, but to Ladybug it felt like hours, and Chat’s condition was only getting worse the longer he stayed out in the cold. Her earrings beeped just as she made it through the newly restored bakery doors, so after checking to be sure she was alone she let the transformation go. Chat hadn’t used Cataclysm in the fight, so it would take a long time for Plagg to run out of energy.

“Hello?” Marinette called, carrying Chat bridal style up the stairs to her home. Just thinking about seeing Ayla and her parents right now had her heart thumping in her chest and sweat gathering in her palms. She had no idea what they think about her now that they know she’d been hiding Ladybug from them this whole time. Especially Ayla, who had spent so long trying to figure out who Ladybug really was, would probably be upset with Marinette. 

“Marinette?” a voice called from the living room. Her parents and Alya were sat on the couch, clearly waiting for her return. Marinette froze in the middle of the room, staring at them wide-eyed. She didn’t want to face them, but she had to. For Adrien.

“H-he’s hurt.” She saw their eyes turn to the boy in her arms, and the blood falling in steady drips down onto the wood floor. “Please help him.”

Her family was quiet for a moment, before her mom seemed to shake herself out of her shock. “I’ll get some supplies,” she said, “Tom, get some towels and lay them out on the couch.” 

He did as he was told, and soon they had Chat Noir lying on his stomach on the towel covered couch, since his back had taken the brunt of the damage. Marinette kneeled by his side, carefully taking his hand and trying to ignore the shard of glass that still protruded from it. She felt her mom approach from behind, quietly examining Chat. “Can we take his suit off?”

“No. It’s kind of… part of him I guess?” Marinette answered. “He’ll have to transform first.” She leaned in close to his ear, keeping her voice low and gentle. “Can you transform back?”

She just barely caught his nod before he mumbled something and a glow washed over him, melting his black suit away and replacing it with the t-shirt he was wearing before. Marinette helped lift the barely conscious boy while her mom removed his shit before she laid him back down, blushing and averting her eyes. Her mom and Ayla gasped as they took in the blood and glass. “How did this happen?”

“He was thrown through a window,” Marinette said.

“Mari,” Ayla breathed, “This is too much. He needs to go to a hospital.”

“He can’t. I don’t want to risk anyone figuring out that he’s Chat Noir.”

Her mom opened her first aid box, pulling out disinfectant wipes and a pair of tweezers. “We’ll do what we can here, but if he seems like he’s still in danger I’m taking him to the hospital.” She handed Ayla a pair of tweezers as well. “Marinette, go get cleaned up.” 

Marinette looked down at her clothes. She had been so busy worrying about Adrien that she didn’t realize he had bled all over her civilian clothes. “I’m okay here, mama. I want to stay with him.”

“He’ll still be here when you’re done. Go, you smell,” Ayla quipped, and Marinette shuffled off to her bathroom.

Marinette turned the shower knob to the hottest setting, undressing and stepping into the spray. As she scrubbed the blood off of her skin, she allowed her thoughts to wander. She couldn’t believe Adrien had put himself in danger like that. She had just told him how important he was to her and how devastated she would be if he got hurt, and he ignored her. He jumped into the fight head on with no thought, just as he always did. Before she knew Chat Noir was really Adrien it wouldn’t have upset her, but now she felt a more personal connection to him. Chat Noir wasn’t just some random daredevil in a black suit. He was the boy that Marinette loved, and she couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to him. She wanted to beg him to stop; to pass his ring on to someone else. But at the same time, she understood how much that would hurt him. Ladybug was everything to Marinette, and there was no doubt that Chat Noir was the same to Adrien. She couldn’t just ask him to give it up.

By the time she re-entered the living room, skin scrubbed clean and smelling of fresh flowers, Adrien was sitting up on the couch, his torso swathed in bandages, holding an ice pack to his head while Alya worked the glass out of his hand gently with her tweezers. A half filled bowl of glass shards sat on the coffee table. Marinette’s mom sat at his side, talking to him softly. 

“How are you feeling?”

“Not bad,” Adrien gritted out. He held his ice pack in a steel grip. 

“Adrien’s been a champ,” Marinette’s mom said, touching his scrunched up cheek lightly with her thumb. Marinette pretended not to catch the way he leaned in to the comforting, motherly touch. “But I’m sure he’ll need to get a good nap in soon. He’s overexerted himself.” 

When all of Adiren’s cuts were cleaned and bandaged, Marinette helped him up to her room and tucked him into bed. He complained softly that it was only the middle of the day, but still he fell asleep in minutes, his body overwhelmed with exhaustion. Once she was sure he was asleep, Marinette left her room, ready to face her family.


End file.
